All Payless Shoe Stores closing in the U.S.

2017 Bankruptcy May Not Have Been Enough

Payless Shoe Source announced that it will be closing all 2,100 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. Liquidation sales will begin as well as shutting down the online store and internet sales operations. In 2017, Payless filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy in an attempt to re-organize it’s debt and continue operating.

Payless, one of the largest footwear retailer companies in the nation has stores in over 40 countries worldwide. The company founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956, has more than 3,600 locations and international franchises.

According to reports, now that the company has confirmed the U.S. store closures, Payless could file for bankruptcy for a second time. In 2017, Payless filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed approximately 400 stores. Through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it reorganized and cut debt at that time, but it may have not been enough to save the company.

Companies who have fallen into crushing debt commonly use bankruptcy in order to reorganize debt and close store locations. Sometimes it is effective, sometimes the company ends up with a second bankruptcy filing. Additionally, in some situations, the company ends up completely out of business.

Perhaps in the “age of Amazon” Payless is yet the next retailer that has seen the drop in brick-and-mortar shopping sales as online shopping grows. Payless is one among a list of businesses in 2019 having to close stores including Gymboree (749 stores), Shopko (251 stores), and Charlotte Russe (94 stores). We are early into 2019 and this trend may continue to snowball leading to additional closing of beloved stores that Baby Boomers and Millennials alike grew up frequenting.